A land swap first envisioned in 2023 has neared completion with the unveiling of the Kevin Brady Library and Community Center in the Grogan’s Mill Village Center.
Following the 2020 closing of a Randalls store, the site was transformed through a $16.5 million partnership between Montgomery County and Howard Hughes over the past year. The new library and community center will continue to serve as a community hub, and the renovated retail portion of the center will welcome a number of new stores in the next year, Howard Hughes officials said.
Nelda Blair, the founding chair of The Woodlands Township’s board of directors, said she believes the transformation of the center has been important for the community.
“This ... is just really a perfect example of how our community does its best when we come together and work as partners,” Blair said.
Blair and a number of other current and former residents were recognized for their contributions to the community with namesake rooms in the community center.
In March, county officials said the center would be named for Kevin Brady, a longtime resident of The Woodlands who represented Texas’ 8th Congressional District from 1997-2023.
Kevin Brady Library and Community Center features and amenities:
Community center
- 5,000-square-foot ballroom
- Conference room
- Theater-style classroom
- Space for senior activities
- Children’s area
- Young adult room
- Podcast room
- 3D printer
Diving in deeper
Howard Hughes officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony June 25 for the retail portions of the Grogan’s Mill Village Center, which make up approximately 32,000 square feet of space at the site, and remained under the ownership of Howard Hughes.
Four new businesses have announced their openings in the center as of press time, including Suna Studio, Plush Nail Bar, cookie store Half Baked Goodness and doughnut shop Yonutz.
Businesses that have closed at the shopping center include Chef Chan’s, but others have found new homes in other parts of the township, such as The Blue Lion Pub, which relocated to McBeth Way in January. Others, such as Ome Calli Cafe and Brothers Pizza, have continued their leases at the center, officials said.
“Economic development is critical,” Precinct 3 Commissioner Ritch Wheeler said. “If we can take the tax burden off of the residents by other revenue streams, then that’s a win. I think that, yes, this will be a launching point, maybe a blueprint for other areas to be able to ... bring more business to our community.”
In their words
“We live in a community that was built on innovation ... and this is [an] example of that," said Aaron Cox, The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce president.
“I think this could be a great first step in reinventing ourselves," Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner Ritch Wheeler said.
A long time coming
Elizabeth Cunningham, daughter of the late Bruce Cunningham, a former president of Grogan’s Mill Village Association and namesake for one of the new community center rooms, said she believes the project completes what her father had hoped to see come to fruition.
“[It had] become like a dead space, and that shopping center was not [the] destination that it used to be,” Elizabeth Cunningham said. “And he spent a good—I don’t know how many years calling every supermarket chain in America trying to come in and fill that [grocery store].”
While the center was initially deed-restricted to house a grocery store anchor, that requirement was waived as part of the land swap deal, Community Impact previously reported.
“Years of attempts, both by the previous owner and us to bring a grocer to the center were unsuccessful, but we knew that there needed to be an anchor to bring traffic in order to support the other retailers and restaurants there,” said Jim Carman, president of the Houston region of Howard Hughes.
As outlined in the land swap deal, the county took ownership of the new facility and 7.8 acres of land at the Grogan’s Mill Village Center, with an estimated total value of over $30 million, county officials said. The project, which cost $16.5 million, included renovating the library and community center, as well as revitalizing the rest of the retail center and building a new clock tower, according to previous reporting.
Howard Hughes picked up the 5.72 acres occupied by the former library and community center on Lake Robbins Drive as part of the deal.
“We were concerned ... about the vacancy and really the lack of investment being made in its upkeep,” Carman said. “As developers and stewards of this community, we hope that by improving the village center, that it would be exciting for our residents and business owners. And so we got involved in 2023, and now we’re excited to see it all come together.”
The timeline
Feb.15, 2020: Randalls store closes
Sept. 26, 2023: Land swap deal approved by Montgomery County Commissioners Court
July 15, 2024: Work on the library and community center begins
June 25, 2025: Retail center grand opening held
July 15, 2025: Montgomery County commissioners approve appraisals needed for land exchange
July 26, 2025: South Montgomery County Library closes to the public
Aug. 20, 2025: New community center rooms and library unveiled at VIP event
Sept. 2, 2025: Library and community center will be open to the public
What's next
Future additions could include additional park development near the village center. The Woodlands Township board of directors approved a $52,000 work order in February to conduct a feasibility study for a new community park in the area in collaboration with Howard Hughes and Montgomery County.
Township Chief Operating Officer Chris Nunes said that as of early August, the study’s results were not yet available.
As for the future of the Lake Robbins Drive site where the library was previously located, Howard Hughes officials were not able to comment in July.
“We’re focused on completing [the] new project at Grogan’s Mill Village Center, and we aren’t currently working on any plans for the other [Lake Robbins Drive] site, so it’s very much something that we’ll study in the future, but not something that we’re focused on right now,” Carman said.
The South County Library was previously located at 2101 Lake Robbins Drive, The Woodlands.
